Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

"Investigate!" Zhu Yuyan said coldly, "Dare to kill an elder of my Yin Gui Sect? This is a provocation against my Yin Gui Sect. No matter the cost, we must find the murderer and kill him without mercy!"

"Yes." Wen Caiting accepted the order and left.

Just as Zhu Yuyan was resting her chin on her hand in silence, a delicate, barefoot girl in yellow entered. Seeing Zhu Yuyan deep in thought, she softly asked, "Master, what are you thinking about?"

Her voice was indescribably beautiful, like celestial music. Although this girl was only fifteen or sixteen years old, her figure and appearance perfectly matched her voice, especially her pair of bare, jade-like feet, which were white, smooth, and shaped like beautiful jade, making one want to caress and play with them for a lifetime. She was truly a peerless fairy, flawless from head to toe, inside and out.

Zhu Yuyan looked at the girl who walked in, her eyes revealing genuine joy, but she pretended to be angry and said, "Why are you here instead of practicing your skills properly, Wanwan?"

"I just heard Master's furious outburst and got curious, so I forgot to cultivate and came to see Master." This elfin girl, Wanwan, had an exceptionally clear smile that was like a refreshing sip of cool spring water on a sweltering summer day, soothing to the soul.

Zhu Yuyan's eyes flashed with immense satisfaction. Wanwan was the successor she had chosen. Compared to herself back then, Wanwan's talent was even better. At only fifteen years old, she had already cultivated the Heavenly Demon Art to the fifteenth level. If nothing unexpected happened, when Wanwan turned eighteen, she would surely reach the peak of the seventeenth level and strive for the final eighteenth level.

For that day, she had been doing everything in her power to protect Wanwan's virginity from defilement. In the Yin Gui Sect, a place teeming with evil spirits, it was no easier for a woman to maintain her virginity than to snatch food from a tiger's mouth. Wanwan was a woman who surpassed her in talent, beauty, and temperament in her youth, and she had to protect her.

Wanwan was her only hope for breaking through the eighteenth level of the Heavenly Demon Technique.

"I am pleased that you are worried about your teacher." Zhu Yuyan nodded with a smile and said, "However, as long as you work hard in your cultivation, that will be the best reward for your teacher. You don't need to worry about many miscellaneous matters."

Wanwan gave a soft "hmm" and said, "I am extremely grateful for Master's love for me, but I also want to share Master's burdens!"

Zhu Yuyan smiled slightly: "If that's the case, then you should pay attention to a young master knife user!"

"A master of the knife?" Wanwan's bright, star-like eyes held a hint of doubt.

Zhu Yuyan nodded and briefly recounted the analysis between Bian Bufu and Wen Caiting regarding his murder, saying, "This person speaks arrogantly and is certainly not a well-known figure. Only a young man fresh out of school could do something like this."

Wanwan nodded thoughtfully: "Wanwan will remember this. If I encounter a young master who wields a knife in the future, I will not let him go."

He paused, then felt a surge of joy: That old lecher Bian Bufu is finally dead! That's wonderful! A young expert with a knife? Next time we meet, they'll at least leave you a whole corpse. Hehe.

……

Outside Chang'an City, at Emperor's Peak, lies Cihang Jingzhai.

Upon hearing the news of Bian Bufu's death, everyone at Cihang Jingzhai was overjoyed, including the sect leader, Fan Qinghui.

“Amitabha Buddha, the demonic sect has committed many unrighteous acts and deserves this karmic retribution.”

Seeing their sect leader happy, the disciples of Cihang Jingzhai were even happier.

“Master, I wonder which chivalrous hero killed Bian Bufu? If we meet again in the future, we should befriend him!” a very pretty and lovely disciple of Jingzhai said happily.

Fan Qinghui smiled slightly: "This person must be a young swordsman. Otherwise, how could he have left behind such childlike words?"

That's true; different perspectives lead to different opinions. Zhu Yuyan saw Ling Chi's two sentences as blatant provocation, arrogant and despicable. Fan Qinghui, however, found them childlike and amusing.

"Who are the young masters of swordsmanship in the world?" asked another pretty and charming disciple from Jingzhai.

This stumped even Fan Qinghui.

There are many skilled swordsmen in the world, the strongest of whom is undoubtedly Song Que, the Heavenly Blade. However, Song Que is over sixty years old and, considering his status, it is impossible for him to leave Lingnan just to kill Bian Bufu.

Ba Dao Yue Shan is older than Song Que and is not even worth considering. As for the younger generation of sword masters, they are few and far between. However, to reach the level of beheading someone with a single stroke, these young masters are not qualified.

"I'll have to keep an eye on things in the future," Fan Qinghui said. "This young hero is an enemy of the Demonic Sect, and is a friend of my Jingzhai. If we meet again in the future, we must not be rude to him."

"Yes," the disciples replied in unison.

Fan Qinghui noticed a female disciple, as ethereal as a celestial being in the mountains, deep in thought. Intrigued, she asked, "Feixuan, what are you thinking about?"

The girl she called Feixuan was named Shi Feixuan. She was seventeen years old and was the chosen Holy Maiden of Jingzhai and her only successor. Although she was young, she was exceptionally talented. She had already reached the realm of Sword God Selflessness in cultivating the Cihang Sword Manual and was only one step away from the ultimate Sword Heart Clarity.

However, the most difficult part of cultivating any divine skill manual is reaching the final stage.

Since the beginning of the year, Shi Feixuan has cultivated to the Sword God Selflessness realm and has now stabilized her realm. However, it will not be possible to reach the Sword Heart Clarity realm in just three to five years. This requires sufficient opportunity, sufficient comprehension, and sufficient luck.

In any case, Fan Qinghui was satisfied that Cihang Jingzhai had such an outstanding successor as Shi Feixuan, and had no other thoughts.

“Master,” Shi Feixuan said softly, “I was thinking that if this young hero could cut off the head of the enemy with a single stroke, he must have reached the Grandmaster level. However, Master also said that he is very young, which has made me think. There seems to be one person in the world who fits the description of a young Grandmaster. Moreover, this person… is also a master of the sword.”

"Oh?" Fan Qinghui's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Who is it?"

"The Lord of Peach Blossom Island," Shi Feixuan said.

"It's him!?" Fan Qinghui was taken aback.

In recent years, the reputation of Peach Blossom Island's cuisine as the best in the world has spread far and wide. Cihang Jingzhai has naturally heard of the name of Peach Blossom Island's cuisine. Moreover, as time goes by, those forces that covet Peach Blossom Island's ability to make money have launched countless coercion and enticement attacks against Peach Blossom Island, and even resorted to violence.

But the result?

Peach Blossom Island remains standing. Even a year ago, a pirate force of a thousand men attacked the island, but not a single one returned alive. Since then, Peach Blossom Island has become a taboo and the focus of attention for all forces.

Cihang Jingzhai is no exception.

Over the past year, the elders and disciples of Cihang Jingzhai have visited the island several times to enjoy the local delicacies, but in reality, they have been secretly observing what kind of masters are in charge of Peach Blossom Island.

After a year of observation, they basically determined that the owner of Peach Blossom Island, Chef Ling Chi, was a master-level expert.

And... it's done with a knife.

A kitchen knife is still a knife, no problem.

"Could it be him?" Fan Qinghui was skeptical.

Shi Feixuan nodded gently: "According to the message sent back by Elder Shi, Ling Chi left Peach Blossom Island several days ago and his whereabouts are unknown."

A glint flashed in Fan Qinghui's eyes as she said, "So, the person who killed Bian Bufu is very likely Young Hero Ling?"

Shi Feixuan nodded gently: "Although it is only a disciple's guess, it is very likely."

Fan Qinghui narrowed her eyes and said, "Feixuan, you should go to Peach Blossom Island and see him."

"..."

Chapter Five: The Art of Staged Accidents

Jingnian Temple, along with Cihang Jingzhai, is known as one of the two great holy sites in the martial arts world. It is the undisputed leader of the righteous martial arts world. Unlike Cihang Jingzhai, which selects successors to travel the martial arts world, Jingnian Temple mostly plays a supporting role and does not have a dominant position.

Located in the southern suburbs of Luoyang, the temple complex comprises hundreds of buildings, resembling a small city. In the center are seven main halls and a small bronze hall, each three zhang wide and deep, and one and a half zhang high.

Except for the bronze hall, all the buildings are covered with tricolor glazed tiles, their colors as new as ever. In front of the bronze hall is a vast platform plaza, hundreds of feet wide, paved with white stone and surrounded by a white stone balustrade. In the center is a bronze statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva riding a golden lion, flanked by statues of the Three Buddhas: Bhaisajyaguru, Shakyamuni, and Amitabha. The painted sculptures and gilded decorations are quite impressive. Apart from the four stone steps leading to the entrance, there are an average of five hundred Arhats, all cast in gold and bronze, each with a lifelike expression.

On this day, a small vendor pushing a wheelbarrow came to the outside of Jingnian Temple. The devout men and women passing by glanced at him but paid him no further attention, until...

"Hiss..." Many people were sniffing: "What's that smell? It smells so good!"

Following the aroma, the group arrived at the gate of Jingnian Temple and saw a small cart displaying many colorful pastries of unknown names, the fragrance emanating from them.

Behind the cart, a young man dressed in white and wearing a tall hat saw the crowd surging in and shouted, "Come and see! Ling Family Pastry is having a grand opening sale! We have water chestnut cake, osmanthus cake, mung bean cake, Hechuan peach slices, phoenix tail pastry, longan pastry, dragon and phoenix cake, sesame cake, peach pastry, rice candy, sweet potato candy, white hibiscus pastry, sachima, peanut candy, peanut brittle, and fish skin peanuts—all for ten taels of silver per catty! Ten taels of silver, you won't lose out! Ten taels of silver, you won't be cheated! Ten taels of silver, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"..."

Everyone was persuaded to give up by the ten taels of silver. Although they didn't mind donating hundreds of taels of silver to the Jingnian Temple, they were extremely reluctant to spend ten taels of silver to buy a pound of pastries.

Some people are just so strange!

"Amitabha." A middle-aged monk walked over, chanting the Buddha's name, and said, "Benefactor, this is a pure Buddhist site. Please go and sell your goods elsewhere."

“What the master said makes perfect sense.” The boy chuckled and said, “Buddhism can accept incense money from worshippers, but it does not allow us vendors who earn money through our own labor to earn a little hard-earned money. It truly deserves to be called Jingnian Zen Temple, which saves all sentient beings.”

The middle-aged monk frowned: "Amitabha, benefactor, you are just showing off your verbal skills. Please leave quickly."

The boy looked at him with a half-smile and said, "What if I don't leave?"

"Amitabha, then it's not up to you, benefactor." The middle-aged monk had just reached out to touch him when the boy suddenly collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony: "The monks of Jingnian Temple are beating people! The monks of Jingnian Temple are beating people! Is there no law anymore? I'm going to be beaten to death by the monks of Jingnian Temple! Please save me! If you don't save me, then when the monks beat you in the future, no one will save you!"

"..."

A commotion broke out at the scene, and many people rushed over after hearing the commotion. The devout men and women, unaware of the truth, began to discuss the matter.

"What happened? Someone said that the monks at Jingnian Temple beat someone up?"

"This... I don't know either! Hey, sir, did you see it?"

“Uh, well…maybe, perhaps…” The man wasn’t entirely sure either: “I just saw the master reach out and push the vendor, and then the vendor fell to the ground yelling.”

"Push? Then they must have hit each other. Everyone knows that Jingnian Temple is full of experts. Even a novice monk is very powerful, let alone a middle-aged monk."

"This is outrageous! He's a monk, yet he hit someone. This is just too much!"

"The young man who was beaten is right. If we don't help others, who will help us when we get beaten in the future? This young man is young, but his words are full of profound meaning. It's really rare."

"Stop showing off your words, you pedantic scholar! Go and save them!"

"Yes, yes, this is upholding justice. Let's go together, let's go together."

Soon, a chorus of accusations, curses, and calls for justice erupted at the entrance of Jingnian Temple.

"..."

The middle-aged monk was dumbfounded. He had only reached out and touched it, how could it have turned out like this?

Could it be that my Vajra Palm technique has reached the point where a mere graze can cause injury, and a single touch can lead to death?

Of course, he had no idea that he had encountered the most terrifying, despicable, and shameless divine skill in the world. This skill would make a person's skin as hard as iron and their body as fragile as porcelain. Just one touch would cost at least 20,000. Even if you tried to avoid it, it would still actively chase after you and touch you. At that point, it wouldn't just be a matter of 20,000; you wouldn't even be able to get away with it without 100,000.

That's right, the name of this amazing skill is—the Art of Extortion!

"Oh dear, my elbow! Oh dear, my elbow! Oh dear, my chin! Oh dear, my herniated disc! Oh dear..."

Seeing the vendor's pitiful state, the crowd was filled with righteous indignation: "How could such a despicable thing happen at the prestigious Jingnian Zen Monastery? It's hateful! It's despicable! It's shameful!"

"Amitabha--"

A Buddhist chant, like the roar of a lion, suddenly appeared, suppressing all other sounds.

Everyone turned to look and saw an old monk in a kasaya, exuding an imposing aura, walk out of the door. Behind him were four other old monks, and some worshippers immediately recognized the five of them.

"Ah! It is Zen Master Liaokong and the Four Guardian Vajras."

Everyone made way for the five people, their anger and resentment vanishing as they looked at them with utmost reverence. Several even knelt on the ground, muttering, "Master, please give my wife a child!"

"..."

Master Liaokong, the abbot of Jingnian Zen Temple. At this moment, Liaokong felt frustrated because his years of silent meditation practice had been broken by this young man lying on the ground pretending to be meditating.

I'll fuck you, you son of a bitch, may your son be born without an anus...

“Amitabha, benefactor, have you made enough of this?” Liaokong said.

"Ouch, my elbow! Ouch, my elbow! Ouch, my herniated disc! Ouch, it hurts!" the boy cried out in pain. "I'm doomed! These injuries will cost at least five thousand taels of silver before I can recover."

Liao Kong: "(▼ヘ▼#)"

"Amitabha." Liaokong suppressed his anger: "Benefactor, let's not beat around the bush, please speak frankly."